An Garda Síochána have received reports of men calling to the homes of elderly people and visiting retail carparks trying to sell products in Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
These men are offering to sell power tools and generators, and they are targeting the homes of elderly and vulnerable people, according to the An Garda Síochána Donegal Facebook post.
An Garda Síochána Donegal took to its social media platform to warn people of this activity and that any suspicious activity should be reported to a local gardaí station.
The gardaí urged the community of Buncrana to take note of any vehicles/callers that appear suspicious and to warn elderly/vulnerable family members, neighbors and friends to not buy items from these sellers.
Meanwhile, An Garda Síochána Meath posted on its Facebook, a reminder for those with family members who may be susceptible to having “bogus callers and rogue traders” call to their homes.
An Garda Síochána strongly advise the following:
- Do not open your door to anyone before you are confident that they are known to you or that they have a genuine reason to be there;
- Use a chain lock for added security as the callers can often be intimidating and often refuse to take no for an answer;
- Contact gardaí immediately should you encounter such a caller and try to give as much information as possible, description of person, registration number, direction of travel etc.
The gardaí stated that “anyone can receive visits from bogus callers and our older persons are frequently targeted by them”.
The callers may offer services, such as power washing, painting, selling goods, and some might call under “false pretences” as a collector for a charity or a local organisation.
An Garda Síochána urge the public to be vigilant when out and about, and report suspicious persons/vehicles to a local garda station immediately.